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Blender Vs Autodesk

I am new to modeling field , so i am very confuse about what is best for me as a start... i knew that Autodesk have strong products like Maya, 3ds max and alias... but in the other hand i prefer open source softwares coz they have a continues update behavior... plus i am a new comer so why i stick with a high cost product!!! . The question is.. can blender work in modeling better than Autodesk products?..

i think the questions you should be asking yourself is do I want to do this professionally, do I want to show my work, do I want to pirate thousands of dollars in software? ( this may actually be a felony straight out of the box based on cost of stolen goods anyone know about this)

Tell me the answers to those question and I can share my opinion with you.

I am new to modeling field , so i am very confuse about what is best for me as a start... i knew that Autodesk have strong products like Maya, 3ds max and alias... but in the other hand i prefer open source softwares coz they have a continues update behavior... plus i am a new comer so why i stick with a high cost product!!! . The question is.. can blender work in modeling better than Autodesk products?..

Yes, for some things, Blender is much better than the stuff from Autodesk. For other things, The commercial software is vastly better. That said, I would reccomend a newbie learn Blender. First, it's cheaper. Free is a lot lighter on the pocketbook than $$$ for the commercial software. A good chunk of the basic skill set will be tranferrable from one 3D application to another, even if they work quite differently. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to invest oodles and oodles of money when you are just starting out. Once you have some skill in 3D, you can evaluate whether the specific features of a commercial application suit your needs and workflow. Of course, it doesn't cost anything to pirate commercial software, but it is illegal, and you won't be able to do anything with your work. I do not reccomend going that route.

If you are new to 3d modelling, the software isn't the major issue. You really have to learn the fundamentals, which can than be applied to any software packages. It's a bit like learning to drive. You don't learn to just drive a ford or a toyota, you learn how to drive almost any car. If you don't learn stick shift, you're limited in your choices. Same in 3D. All those automagic softwares are good, but it's better to know how to do it from scratch.

I would say learn 3D in Blender, once you know the fundamentals, it's not that hard to transfer, if you have to.

like forazoo said:
the software doesn't matter it's learning the fundementals
I have found that blender has a better community for helping you learn than any other software, more video tutorials etc - but that shouldn;t stop you from looking at other software tutorials because the same methods can be transferred to Blender (most of the time)
if you just want to muck around with 3d - blender is the shnizzle

Actually, a few months (or years) back I'd have said, learn the basics in Blender, then you can switch anytime. Now I say - learn the basics in Blender and keep at it. Blender shows some developments, which I would not have belived to be possible. So, BlackBoe got some good points.

But to be more precise: if you want to do 3D as a hobby, then Blender offers anything you might want. If you want to go professional, then it is definitely a good and solid starting point, from which you can move in any given direction. If you even find a job in a studio or something, then it actually isn't your decision what you're going to use, so you can't really be sure what you need to learn anyway.
But nevertheless, once you got a certain understanding of the aspects of 3D, I'd also say that you check out other packages - not because they are better, but different and probably suit your workflow neatly.

But do keep in mind that Blender's still going higher and higher, aiming for the stars...don't you want to be part of it

How To Start?

well, let me see.. all of you are saying that i should start to learn the fundamentals and then choose the product which will be fine to my work... its nice but the question is ( and i don't want an answer which talking about cost) if i want to start my learning journey (and lets say that i will start with blender) what is the best way to start?
1. from a book
2. from tutorials
3. just by playing with the software

i am confuse coz my graduation project was in 3d gaming and i used 3d game studio (www.3dgamestudio.com) and the modeling engine was my real problem so i need to work with something which can give you a strong output in a fast learning time line (what is this ? )

I would definitely start with the blender wiki for a quick start. It can help a LOT with learning your way around the software! Also just experiment and play around with it yourself. Just explore the software and get used to it!

If they are happy for you to model in Blender and you are comfortable with it, it shouldn't be a problem. In a way, it could be a plus, as you could free up a max seat for other tasks. Importing static models into Max would be the way to go. It has good rigging tools and it's not that hard to learn, it's just that it's not familiar to you yet. So familiarise yourself with Max, they've got the manuals, right? Good luck with the new job.

Once you get used to Blender, you'll look at commercial software and think to yourself "x feature is nice but I know how to achieve that effect in Blender!". You'll also realise that Blender is only lacking in the "advanced" features of those programs that take years to master anyway. For production of stills, I genuinely believe that with a Kerkythea/Indigo combination, Blender can match *anything* produced by any commercial software.

For modelling, Blender can match them all if you learn to work without NGons. That said, for precise engineering Blender doesn't have the NURB capabilities. For animation, Blender can do everything except some specialised effects - physical simulation isn't great yet (though Blender has a fluid simulator which only comes as an extra paying plugin for most commercial software!).

In short, I don't believe anyone has exhausted all the possibilities afforded by Blender. Using commercial software, some of the special effects are easier to produce but you may find Blender faster for the bread-and butter of CG (mainly modelling and texturing). Once you get used to Blender, you'll be able to quickly turn anything you can imagine into reality with some creative use of Blender's tools. If Blender can't do something, you'll be quickly able to script it in Python is you can program/ have the inclination to learn the language.

Personally, I don't think anyone doing computer graphics at any level (professional or hobbyist) has any excuse not to have Blender on their own hard drive (unless for some silly legal reasons). Only if you specialise in special effects (complex CG weather, huge crowds, big explosions or difficult camera tracking) for a salary should you really need to consider commercial software. Of course, I believe we should try to support open source alternatives if we can but that is a different issue...

I've quit my teaching job of eleven years to become a student again, and take a diploma in 3D animation. For the last several years I've become pretty much completely Open Source (Linux instead of Windows) which has pros and cons for me as a Technology teacher. Part of my making this decision is because I realised that I was not achieving any of the Art goals I had set myself because I was too overloaded in the mundane parts of everyday work and needed a change to really break out 100% (lifestyle choice)
...anyway, the school I'm going to only takes on 20 students at a time for the course. As far as I know they use Maya, which I have never used. They wanted an Art portfolio (2D and 3D) as well as full descriptions of programs I have experience with etc. My point is that even though my Blending isn't that outstanding, it was enough to impress them into giving me a spot. I've even fixed up an Ubuntu box to take with me so I can do most of the time consuming mesh making at my own home instead of working late hours every evening in their labs. Bet I can't convince them to add Blender to their renderfarms

organizing the last opinions

ok lets organize these general opinions

1. 3d max is great but blender will develop faster.
2. 3d max is expensive but blender is free.
3. blender doesn't have enough tutorials comparing with max.
4. blender is much more easy.
5. blender is a strong software which can do what ever max do.
6. blender is the best if you want to start from zero.

7. Blender may lack documentation sometimes but the great community makes up for it.
8. You can download bleeding edge builds if you want to - custom builds and optimisations.
9. No worries of being tied to a company's fortunes.
10. Freedom to branch the code if you don't like the direction of development.
11. You can help influence development of the software at a more personal level.
12. Plays nicely with other free software.

Actually, there is a free version of Maya...tho I believe it is based on an earlier release.

I rather think it puts Watermarks in your renders and does not let you export your work or similar (If you're speaking about the Personal learning edition). Not really worth it, to learn the basics, except you really want to try and think about getting the real thing.